Chapter 1 #2
I had no issue when it came to defending my kingdom. The fact that my life would no longer be in my control was what I couldn't stand the thought of.
Delani tapped her foot in the sand, waiting for me to admit that her claim was correct.
"What if by some chance the gods have deemed me worthy?" I asked, giving into the intensity of her stare.
Her dainty figure slid by my side, our shadows showcasing the difference in our body types. She weaved her fingers between mine as I turned my gaze to the horizon, immersing myself in the colors that painted the sky—the same hues that always appeared just before the sunset.
“If that happens, then you fight like hell to become one of the best damn soldiers the king has ever had.” She squeezed my hand tighter. “You wield whatever power you are gifted, finish your time at the academy, and your ten years of service.” She turned to face me. “You stay alive.”
I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat from those words. There were always a handful of students who struggled to properly wield their magic. Those few usually ended up dead before the end of their first year, never even making it to the armoring ceremony.
My eyes dipped from the sky and accidentally skimmed the tip of the tower again. Another burst of anxiety claimed me, but I shoved it away, focusing my attention on Delani.
She pushed her forehead against mine. “Then, you bring your ass right back home to Mom and me. I’ll bake your favorite biscuits, and you can tell me about all of the hot soldiers you had drooling over you,” she finished with a grin.
I let out a snort of laughter, then looked back to the nearly set sun.
Before long, the exhaustion of the day caught up to me. I settled myself down into the sand and dug a hole with my toes, burying my feet under the cool earth.
Delani sat down beside me and we watched the sky until the warmth of the sun faded, and the violet stained horizon deepened into a pigment of blue.
The sun glistened through the cloth of my curtains, the open crack of the window allowing for a mellow breeze to flow throughout the tight quarters of my room. I sat up in my bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes.
Daybreak indicated that the festival had already begun, and I groaned at the thought. Soon I would have no choice but to make the journey to the castle, where I would spend the entirety of my day including well into the evening hours.
The celebration would continue until the stars had stopped falling. The commencement ceremony would be held the following afternoon. There, the newly gifted would present themselves to King Hawthorne, damning themselves to fate.
Such bullshit.
I rolled my body away from the glaring sun—so bright and promising and not at all resembling how I felt about today. I'd been agonizing over this moment for months. If I am going to be screwed over by the gods, I’d know by the end of the day.
In all honesty, the whole process of being gifted baffled me.
If I was deemed worthy, I wouldn't know until the precise second that I turned twenty-one, when the jewel that has resided within me since conception fully matured.
The gemstone determined by whichever god chose me would break through my flesh, leaving my skin embellished with a glittering source of magic.
Nothing was more powerful and energetic than the forces of nature, and the gods used mortals to contain these forces in balance.
Those who had access to a fragment of their divine power were seen as assistants to the deities.
With every exertion of their magic, the chosen aided in controlling the chaos of the world.
Most of the gifted had worn their jewels for months now, but the powers held within would not be active until tonight.
The meteor shower acted as a trigger, relinquishing the gods’ hold on their magic.
Only when the mosaic of jewel-toned stars tumbled from the heavens would the chosen feel the first sparks of their power.
The transition was extraordinary to watch, but I had no desire to experience the event for myself.
Desperate to quiet the wandering chaos in my mind, I closed my eyes and begged my body to return to my dream state.
The attempt didn't last long.
Soon enough, my eyes were wide open again, gazing at the ceiling above me. My cheeks puffed out with angst-filled air as I glanced around my bedroom.
My family's home was small, to say the least. The floorboards creaked when stepped on, indicating the deterioration of the cabin.
Some of the logs that built the walls had begun to rot, creating a musty smell that would waft throughout the house during the heat of summer.
My bedchamber was snug, but despite its size, the space had been turned into a perfect depiction of myself.
My writing and drawings coated the walls, some of them dated back to the moment I learned to hold a quill.
Just enough light emitted from the single window, which I found myself grateful for in the evenings when rays of moonlight guided my hand as I wrote in my journal.
Aside from the ocean, my room was my safe place.
Before my father died, we had lived in a larger, newer house closer to the coastline. I didn’t remember it, though. I was barely a year old when he was killed. The only images I could paint of him were those described to me by my mother and Delani.
While lost in my state of nostalgia, I almost missed the sound of a soft knock hitting my door. I jolted upright, my quilt lying flat against my lap as Delani’s head peered through the crack in the doorway.
“Psst. Are you awake?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Happy Birthday!” she cheered, disturbing the peaceful silence of my room and pushing through the doorway.
“Thanks,” I sulked, then pulled the quilt up and over my face, just for her to tear it off and glare at me.
Delani rolled her eyes as she flopped down beside me on the mattress.
“Maeve, I know what you're thinking, and I promise that the odds of you being gifted are extremely unlikely.
You aren't that special,” she teased, then raised her voice even more before continuing.
“So please just try to enjoy your birthday and Jewel-Light tonight.”
I sighed through my nostrils and crossed my arms over my chest. “You say it as if it's such a ridiculous thing for me to be concerned about,” I huffed.
“It kinda is.”
“No, it’s not.”
“It is.”
“I don't even want to go this year.”
“Oh, please. Knock it off.”
“I’m serious.”
Delani rolled her eyes again. “You're just being stubborn. Get up and get dressed. I want to leave after lunch.”
I didn't budge.
“Come on…” Her voice hummed as she begged. “It will be quite entertaining seeing which of the Fletcher boys makes an ass of himself this year.”
Her comment pulled a chuckle free from my lungs.
“He’ll never live that down.” I laughed.
The oldest of the Fletcher boys, Cedric, had gotten so drunk that he stripped to his undergarments and jumped on top of one of the buffet tables.
I was pretty sure he was banned from attending the festival this year after the display of meats and vegetables tumbled into the dirt.
“Gods no. I’ll never let him. And remember how much fun we had last year?” Delani chimed.
“You mean how drunk we got?” I snorted. “That's the last time I let you make me a mixed drink.”
“I’ll have you know, that night was one of the last times I felt well rested. There's just something about waking up with sand caked to your skin and no recollection of how you ended up on the beach in the first place that's really fucking liberating.”
A small smile formed on my lips. The memory brought back a whole array of moments from last year's festival, and I sparked a teeny bit of excitement for the day.
At the very least, I didn't need to worry until the evening.
I wasn't sure of the exact time I was born, but I knew it wasn't during daylight, which meant that the hours leading up to the meteor shower could be spent carefree.
“Fine. But I’m not dressing up and I’m not drinking anything other than wine,” I informed her, my face all too serious as I pointed a finger in her direction.
“Deal. Now get up.”
Delani squeezed me into an awkward, horizontal hug, then rose from my mattress. She tore the quilt clean from my bed prior to leaving my room, just because she could.
As soon as the door clicked shut, the familiar feeling of anxiety came rushing back in. I forced myself to a sitting position, my hands gripping the edge of my mattress as I worked through the panic.
This feeling was all too normal for me. Usually when I felt this way, I would write in my journal.
It may have been excessive, but I wrote down pretty much every detail of my life, ranging from the pleasures to the troubles.
I had stacks of filled notebooks tucked away in my closet.
Putting my thoughts down on paper helped to relieve the weight of them. Writing lessened the burden of life.
Unfortunately, there was no time for scribing. So I raked my fingers through the tangles of my hair, swiftly tying it into a loose braid that landed in the center of my back when completed. Reaching my arms over my head, I stretched before forcing myself to my feet.
I wondered if being gifted was actually as bad as I’d expected it to be.
I wasn’t keen on the idea of the next stage of my life being pre-planned for me, but surely Caelestis Academy wasn’t as horrific as I imagined.
After graduation, it was required that all soldiers lived on the castle grounds, stationed close-by in case they were called upon for service.
But despite that, I would still be able to have a family if I wanted to—could still fall in love.
As long as I stayed alive, it really wouldn’t be so bad.
Right?
I had become good at using logic to talk myself out of things.
Though the tactics the gods used to decide who they deemed worthy were unknown, I knew that the odds of me being gifted were slim—that I was not deserving of such a blessing.
Regardless of the logic, I couldn't shake the feeling that I still might be.
Swallowing the fear that threatened to tear me in half, I walked straight to my wardrobe and rummaged through the drawers. I slid a blouse over my head and wiggled my hips into my favorite pants, then stepped into a pair of boots to finish my outfit.
On the opposing wall hung my mirror, slightly crooked from the ripples of the wood. With a sharp inhale, I held my breath and stepped in front of it. My reflection tilted to the side while I studied the structure of my own face, noting the fullness of my cheeks that rounded out as I faked a smile.
“It's going to be fine,” I assured myself, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.
I released the breath I’d been holding, pushing the air through the barrier of my gritted teeth and kissing my anxiety away as I strode for the door.